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Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

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Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#11

Post by influx »

gcb0 wrote: post #7
iofj wrote: post #2

That's the second time : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/04/yahoo-layoffs-2000-...

second? how quaint... every single CEO did that. some every year. mayer did her's in small installments to not show up in the media. but still got the same cut at the end. i think it's some textbook the board have

Reminds me of this story:

A fellow had just been hired as the new CEO of a large high tech corporation. The CEO who was stepping down met with him privately and presented him with three numbered envelopes. "Open these if you run up against a problem you don't think you can solve," he said.

Well, things went along pretty smoothly, but six months later, sales took a downturn and he was really catching a lot of heat. About at his wit's end, he remembered the envelopes. He went to his drawer and took out the first envelope. The message read, "Blame your predecessor."

The new CEO called a press conference and tactfully laid the blame at the feet of the previous CEO. Satisfied with his comments, the press -- and Wall Street - responded positively, sales began to pick up and the problem was soon behind him.

About a year later, the company was again experiencing a slight dip in sales, combined with serious product problems. Having learned from his previous experience, the CEO quickly opened the second envelope. The message read, "Reorganize." This he did, and the company quickly rebounded.

After several consecutive profitable quarters, the company once again fell on difficult times. The CEO went to his office, closed the door and opened the third envelope.

The message said, "Prepare three envelopes."

Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#12

Post by w1ntermute »

Esau wrote: post #9

Don't worry people; I am sure the CEO will be okay.

Mayer will be walking away with a $158M golden parachute[0], and will undoubtedly have another nice executive position lined up in no time.

It's amazing how much respect she's garnered in the tech community. From all the public info on her, she doesn't seem to have much product vision - rather, she's just a manager who's good at making data-driven decisions (the infamous "41 shades of blue"[1]) to incrementally optimize products that already have their flywheels spinning, and got insanely lucky by betting on the right horse back in 1999.

0: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2015/12/04/maris...

1: http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html

Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#13

Post by voltagex_ »

gcb0 wrote: post #7
iofj wrote: post #2

That's the second time : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/04/yahoo-layoffs-2000-...

second? how quaint... every single CEO did that. some every year. mayer did her's in small installments to not show up in the media. but still got the same cut at the end. i think it's some textbook the board have

There has to be a better way to run a company... this kind of thing from so many companies world wide cannot be good for society as a whole.

Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#14

Post by eru »

voltagex_ wrote: post #13
gcb0 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

second? how quaint... every single CEO did that. some every year. mayer did her's in small installments to not show up in the media. but still got the same cut at the end. i think it's some textbook the board have

There has to be a better way to run a company... this kind of thing from so many companies world wide cannot be good for society as a whole.

Why? Releasing the workforce from an unproductive company is exactly what society needs.

The opposite is zombie companies.

Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#16

Post by Alupis »

notacoward wrote: post #10
Esau wrote: post #9

Don't worry people; I am sure the CEO will be okay.

Yeah, all the "wealth creators" at the top will do fine. It's only the people who did the work and made the stuff who will be laid off. Their fault for not cultivating the right connections.

> It's only the people who did the work and made the stuff who will be laid off.

Well... what do you expect? You're either the job creator or the job filler.

If you could create jobs and had the right motivation and ability to do so, you wouldn't be filling a job.

> Their fault for not cultivating the right connections.

And yes, knowing the right people is part of that game.

And yes, sometimes the job creators must destroy some jobs in order to save the rest. What's better... 10% of Yahoo! laid off... or 100%?

Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#17

Post by voltagex_ »

eru wrote: post #14
voltagex_ wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has to be a better way to run a company... this kind of thing from so many companies world wide cannot be good for society as a whole.

Why? Releasing the workforce from an unproductive company is exactly what society needs. The opposite is zombie companies.

Perhaps Yahoo should have been split into smaller companies sooner. With better management, Flickr could have been Instagram.

Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#18

Post by Alupis »

alexandrerond wrote: post #5
hkmurakami wrote: post #3

Preparing for a sale of their "internet business" perhaps.

When Nokia sold the Devices division to Microsoft it did the opposite, did not fire anyone, and let the new owner take care of it...

> and let the new owner take care of it...

That was likely part of a carefully planned PR move. Microsoft was in a position to be able to weather a massive layoff, especially if it was spun as reducing duplication after picking up a new division. Nokia, on the other hand, would have looked far worse selling off half the company after a huge layoff.

Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#19

Post by aaronbrethorst »

Alupis wrote: post #16
notacoward wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, all the "wealth creators" at the top will do fine. It's only the people who did the work and made the stuff who will be laid off. Their fault for not cultivating the right connections.

> It's only the people who did the work and made the stuff who will be laid off. Well... what do you expect? You're either the job creator or the job filler. If you could create jobs and had the right motivation and ability to do so, you wouldn't be filling a job. > Their fault for not cultivating the right connections. And yes, knowing the right people is part of that game. And yes, sometimes the job creators must d…

    You're either the job creator or the job filler.
Please explain to me which one of those labels best applies to the executive team at Yahoo.

Re: Yahoo planning 10% layoffs as early as this month, report says

#20

Post by sillysaurus3 »

Alupis wrote: post #16
notacoward wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, all the "wealth creators" at the top will do fine. It's only the people who did the work and made the stuff who will be laid off. Their fault for not cultivating the right connections.

> It's only the people who did the work and made the stuff who will be laid off. Well... what do you expect? You're either the job creator or the job filler. If you could create jobs and had the right motivation and ability to do so, you wouldn't be filling a job. > Their fault for not cultivating the right connections. And yes, knowing the right people is part of that game. And yes, sometimes the job creators must d…

If you could create jobs and had the right motivation and ability to do so, you wouldn't be filling a job.

Haha...

I'm happy you believe this. No sarcasm; it just made me wish that I still did.

In this world, merit is judged by more than ability. Motive, if not aimed perfectly, is a burden that will decrease your chances, not increase them.

Background is so important. My family was totally broken, like one hundred percent shattered. There is no chance I'll be a job creator, no matter how driven.

Why can't I meet the right people? Because of what I say when given an initial opportunity. And why am I not able to say the right things? Because of the background and context I grew up in.

And I'm not talking about appealing to some rich person and asking for an opportunity. I'm talking about meeting peers, or building a team, or any of the things that really matter.

One could argue that this situation is mutable, and that it's mostly my fault for what I say. Obviously, yes, it's my fault for the things I say.

But when your whole life has been spent being trained in a certain way, by being in the river of society that pushes us all along, the slipstream that you end up in as a child pretty much makes or breaks your ability to learn how to do anything close to what you're suggesting. To play that game you mention.

Enjoy being a job creator. It's an opportunity that you should make the most of, in the stead of all the people who can't.

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